Selectively Targeting and Differentiating Vancomycin-Resistant Dual Synthetic Fluorescent Probes.

Many bacteria are pathogenic and harmful to humans. Noticeably, some , including vancomycin-resistant (VRSA), have become notoriously resistant to antibiotics and have spread rapidly, becoming threats to public health. Here, we designed a dual fluorescent probe scheme combining siderophores and antibiotics as the guiding units to selectively target VRSA and vancomycin-sensitive (VSSA) in complex bacterial samples. Siderophore-mediated iron uptake is the key pathway by which acquires iron in limited environments. Therefore, the siderophore-derivative probe could differentiate between and other bacteria. Moreover, by fine-tuning the vancomycin-derivative probes, we could selectively target only VSSA, further differentiating VRSA and VSSA. Finally, by combining the siderophore-derivative probe and the vancomycin-derivative probe, we successfully targeted and differentiated between VRSA and VSSA in complicated bacterial mixtures.